The Oath
by MBat
Summary: The Creed was somewhere that Mary finally understood; it was somewhere she had belonged. However, when her mentors life was taken from her, the only route that she had sought was revenge. Now being knee deep in her work as an assassin, will she have time to deal with her pestering neighbor? Or might he be the one she has been seeking for all along?


My eyes trailed over the city's winter landscape bit by bit, following it from the alley slums all the way up to the tallest skyscraper. My ears honed in on even the smallest bumps and rustles of the city life around me. I tried blocking out the noise of the soft hums of the city life, but the murmur of cars and the lulled sound of the police sirens roaring in the distance still broke through. My heart raced with the feeling of adventure that rushed heavily through my veins. This was the reason that I was out here, the reason that I risked my life every now and then: to have this sensation in me.

Whenever I ventured the streets at night I always see the faces of those who are suffering from lack of freedom. Lack of what they don't understand and lack of what they will never see. Many of them were me as a child. Naïve, scared, and most of all unaware of my surroundings.

I never had a picture perfect life. My mother gave birth to me out of wedlock, so the only father figure I had to look up to in my life was my older brother, Mark. However, by the age of fiveteen he was gone; shot in the chest during a gang fight. And that was the last I had seen of a father figure for quite a few years. My mother tried her best and I understood that. She wanted a place better for my brother and I, but the streets were all she could afford. But I didn't mind. I never belonged to a home, the streets were my home and it was the outlet I had strived for.

I paved my way throughout this city, fighting my way through until I could fight no more. Finding what I was looking for and a place that I belong to in the end. And that is was ended me up here.

Feeling the wind brush against my already flushed crimson cheeks sent shivers up and down my spine. The night had been dangerously cold, even the homeless had vacated the area in order to find warmth in the stores and shops that were nearby. I pulled on my cloak, adjusting the hood so that it would hide my face from the winter weather. At this point I only hoped that the snow that had piled up over night would not slow me down.

I shimmied by body closer to the edge of the building, getting a whiff of the bitter cold air burning my nose. My eyes flickered trying to activate my eagle vision, and soon I had the city in front of my gaze with an array of light blues outlining the large buildings. The assassins had taught me how to do this long ago. My mentor, Ah Tabia, had explained to me that all assassins had acquired this ability to which they had called eagle vision. It had allowed me to see that other people can't. It gives the ability to be an assassin.

Using this gift my eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, my pupils dilated and within seconds a bright golden figure had appeared within my sight. That was my target, Laureano de Torres, he worked for one of the cities largest companies, Abstergo. His hair was a snowy white, and the wrinkles on his face had only showed the outlines of what this life had thrown at him. He knew that he was the newest target on the assassins hit list. Although he was a smart man and a very protected one at that, he was going to be the easiest target to get rid of.

Because he liked to be secluded from some of his other coworkers, and he cherished staying at his office after hours, he made himself open to attack at times like this. I had been tracking his movements and his schedule in great detail for the last couple of months, trying and hoping to find a perfect time of attack. I needed this kill and I wasn't going to let anyone take it from me, I even threatened my brothers to stay away. I had my own agenda with this man and nobody was going to stand in my way.

I eyed him closely for my position on the roof. He was standing alone in his office over at the Abstergo center of technology. He was waltzing around the office placing documents and papers into filing cabinets, organizing his belongings to get ready to leave for the night. I knew I had to make my move quickly or I was going to miss out on my opportunity, and I didn't know if I would get another one like this in awhile. It could easily be months before he would be in as vulnerable of a position as he was now.

Shutting off my eagle vision, I closed my eyes. I thought of Ah Tabia at that moment and how he would be displeased in my hesitant manner in the situation. Giving myself a few seconds, I let all of that fade into the background, focusing all at the mission at hand.

Bring my arms down into the white snow, I pulled my body up. It was a long jump to the Abstergo building, and I didn't have much choice. It was either make the leap or fall to your death, and I was not really in the mood for dying. I staggered back making a pathway for me to run in the snow. When I got to the end I took a deep breath.

I sprinted to the edge, feeling my body fall weightlessly through the air. I had remembered that first time I did a leap like this was the exact time that I learned to love falling. The freedom in your body as you wanted for yourself to ground, you couldn't help but feel that there was more that this life had to offer you.

It seemed like an eternity had passed when I felt the bar grip firmly in my hand. I finally let the air out that had stayed stagnant in my lungs throughout the fall and now I knew I was alive and it was time to end Torres' life.

My breath rested there awhile, as I built up the moment in my body so that I had the strength to propel my legs through the thick window that lead into the man's office. I kept myself hidden leaning up against the window above his, keeping out of sight. But, before I knew it I hitched my breath in, swinging my legs through the glass window that scattered into pieces.

The plush flooring broke my fall only slightly, as I stumbled my way through.

Now was the time that I had been waiting for, for I don't know how long. I had thought of the day that I would get a chance to rid this man of this world every night as I laid staring up at the blank wall of the county prison. He was the man that convicted me of a murder that I had never even committed, and he was the reason that my mentor was dead.

I remembered that night so vividly, the blood, there was so much of it. I had to feel his last words slip out of him, I had to hold him as the last bit of life laid heavily on my skin. That would would forever haunt me, and I wished everyday that I could make Torres feel the same. However, even with the impossible I could never bring myself to kill an innocent person. I tried to convince myself that those people that meant the world to him were far from innocent, but I knew as well as the next person that it would not fill the void that was missing since Ah Tabia's death.

My eyes ran over the snowy haired man, clenching my blade firmly in my grasp. I was now going to feel his last breath, I was finally going to receive the revenge that I had been most desperately seeking since Ah Tabia's death.

"I have to say I am surprised. I thought I was going to get visit from you much sooner … Mary." My voice hitched in the back of my throat as his words hissed out from his snake like voice. Torres shuffled through the papers and whatnot that was messily scattered across his desk. He was dressed like any other business man that worked here; reeking of money that is not truly theirs.

"I am surprised myself Torres, but it took me quite a long time to break out of that little prison system of yours," I said, shrugging.

A deep chuckle resounded through the small office complex, when he spun on his heel, turning to face me. His eyes pierced straight into mine. "Funny, it has been awhile hasn't it Mary. The last time I saw you was… "

"When you shot Ah Tabia in the heart. I fully remember the situation Torres." I wasn't here to make small talk with the man.

"Ah, yes. And what are you here for. To finally receive your revenge for the death of your weak husband." He mocked me and the all the willpower in my body forced me not to slit his throat right then and there. However, no matter what a person does they at least deserve a final word.

I lifted my chin slightly, folding my arms firmly over my small chest. "I have, yes. But, as all executions allow I am giving you the right to your last words."

He only nodded, mimicking me as he placed his arms around his chest.

"And what shall they be Mr. Torres?"

"Security!"

I questioned his judgement for a split second. He was a smart man, and smart men always have back up. I should have seen this coming, I should have at least planned for something of this nature.

Leering forward I tried to snag Torres in my grip, but I was off by just a small amount. And I knew exactly at that moment that I was screwed beyond belief. A gunshot cascaded through the building, bouncing off cubicles and running its way back to me.

At that moment I felt a sharp pain radiate through my body, however the most pain came streaming from lower abdomen which in only a few seconds was stained crimson red from the blood that was running heavily from the wound. I clenched the my bleeding flesh, hoping in some way this would make the sting of pain go away some how. But, that did not help, not in the least.

Soon after I could feel my body getting weaker and weaker form the blood that I was losing way too quickly. I needed to leave and find help. My target by this time had already fled, incase of another attack to come. And all I did was stay there standing my feet almost breaking from underneath me. What I had come here to do was already a fail, and now I could most likely die from the mistakes that had been taken tonight.

I stepped back, trying to find something to grab onto before the pain had thrown me hurtling to the floor. My body ached, and I was losing blood faster than I could count, even my eyesight was starting to blur. Creeping toward the window in which I came, I glared back getting a view of one of the security guards following close behind me. I scrambled quickly to my feet trying to stay out of the man's grip.

Sadly, he was quicker than I was, especially in the condition I was currently in. I slide closer and closer to the window, every step I took I tried encouraging myself to move. Getting out was going to be the hardest thing that I was going to be doing tonight, and I knew that as soon as I felt an arm press firmly onto my shoulder.

He grabbed a handful of my cloak pulling me back fiercely. I almost fell over, but his other hand rested against my back, breaking me from doing so. Blurred eyes, I could not make much out of the man that had pulled me back but I understood at that moment that he was to one that shot me. This man was the one that prevented me from killing Torres, he will die as well.

"Don't touch me!" I snapped back at him, pulling my arm back. He tried tugging me back one more time and he had soon found my hidden blade lodged deep in his shoulder. "I told you not to touch me."

He let go this time luckily allowing me to escape with ease.

I struggled to get myself near the ledge of the window in which I had arrived in. Peering down upon the slums and streets below me, to my luck they had shoveled the snow only a day hours prior, so the snow below me was still fresh and packed in tight so that I might have something supportive to land on.

It took me a few seconds to find my center, before leaping off the side of the building, free falling until I reached the plush snow below. My body ached and it was harder for me to move from the white crystals. They felt nice against my wound and brought on the shock that I knew was going to come. I still felt a small numbed pain, but it was not nearly as bad as it was when I was shot.

I had to practically push my way through the snow until I had found my footing on the black pavement. The roads were slick, and in the crap hole that I was in now, only made me feel luckier that I had only lived a few blocks from the Abstergo center.

Making sure that I did not leave a trail of red behind, I slide off the blue sash that was wrapped around my waist, tugging it down to where the bullet wound was located. I tried stopping the bleeding the best I could, but my best was just not good enough. The blood seeped out of me quickly and my head was already dizzy just thinking about it.

The steps that I took were almost miniscule. I needed not to make it there quickly, I just needed to make it to the apartment building in general. The trek to the apartments were feeling to already become torturous to me. The pain ran up and down my spine, and my feet felt all to weak underneath me. I kept telling myself that I was going to make. That I had to make it. I would never have an chance to kill Torres if I died today, and I knew that all too well.

There was much in me that just told me to die. It would be so much easier this way. There would be no more chasing, there would be no more sorrow.

However, I knew that was not an option. The more I suffered the less the people here in my city did. The more tears that I cried, the more the people would have freedom to run. If I wasn't here that would be one less assassin and I did not want to be the last one left behind.

I stumbled a few times as I walked, trying to keep my eyes open. I knew that if I had one second to shut them, even one precise second I could pass out. And there was no room for error as I staggered across. To slim the chances of me getting caught I took the inner highway of alleys until I had finally reached my small apartment complex.

By this time I had already lost way too much blood to even think and I knew that I did not have much longer until my body give up. Throwing up the white flag, I felt the last trickle of blood run down my finger before my eyes shut and I had accepted defeat.

The Next Morning

My head pounded littley against my skull, and that for some reason brought comfort to me. I knew I was alive and that was all that I was seeking for at the moment. Eyes flickering open, I had found myself laying comfortably against my own couch. How much I had missed the feeling of comfort.

Though a rush of pain still raced in my body, as I tried moving myself from the cushions I felt that time was finally on my side.

"Just sit deary. You ain't going to be getting up anytime soon." A heard a sweet voice russelled in from the kitchen . I peered my head up to see who the voice had come from, even though I had honestly already known. "I'm serious Mary, if you step one foot of that couch I will rip off your legs so that it was be impossible for you to move.

I smiled. "Yes mam'" Settling myself back into the couch, I tried to find a comfortable position for me to get into so that it did not bring sweltering pain to the newly wrapped laceration on my lower abdomen.

Moving for a bit I found an awkward position on my back to lay, it might have made me look quite strange. But, the pain was simi gone and that was all I was caring for at the moment. I

Anne, my roommate waltzed in, bring a cup of coffee into me. Her smile widened as she plopped herself across from me on the couch moving my legs out of the way.

"So . . ."

"So, what?" I asked as her light of enthusiasm illuminated the room.

"What happened last night?" She questioned, handing the cup of coffee over to me, crossing her legs indian style underneath her. "I mean besides the fact that you got shot." Anne gestured to the wound.

I nodded my head in distaste of the thought of what had happened last night. "Nothing to get excited about Anne. It wasn't all that great of night and I would prefer not to talk about it. And it's nothing that you should be involved in anyways." Anne knew about that fact that I was an assassins and she thought the whole venture of it was exciting, but she hardly knew the half of it. I wanted to keep her out of enemy sight, the best I could and the only way that I could do that was to keep her out of the business.

"If I am going to have to bandage you up every night that you come home from one of those missions of yours. I am going to need to know what is going on. At least tell me, or you can find yourself another place to live." She threatened.

"I promise I will tell you later Anne, it was a really-really tough night, alright?"

She stuttered lightly in response nodding her head gently. "Fine, but you are telling me later."

Anne stood up leaving me to the silence of the apartment. I quite enjoyed these times alone to myself it allowed me time to think things over. My plan from last night failed in epic proportions and I could not have a relapse of that. The next time, I was pretty much guaranteed to not make it out alive.

As I sat in silence, the urge of getting up was growing greater and out of spite of her telling me what to do I pushed the heavy blankets off of me. Finally allowing my feet to tickle the floor.

I allowed the pain to settle in for awhile before actually getting to my feet. When I was up and moving I found myself actually looking for Anne. Even though it would have probably been in my best interest to either run or hide from her, mostly for being out of bed, I wanted to see what she was doing.

But, I stopped in my tracks as a heavy bang came thumping on the door. I steadily moved back onto my spot on the couch, making myself appear as though I had never moved. Anne glared at me from the corner of her eyes as she moved into the kitchen to where I was laying. Going over to the door, opening it.

"Hello," Anne greeted the visitor at the door with excitement. I tried glaring around her small frame in hopes to see who was standing there, but that came with no luck. After a few seconds of them making small talk she stepped aside allowing the visitor inside.

To my surprise, it was someone that I had never seen before. He was tall, blond hair that extended all the way into the small scuff that framed his face, and blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean. I smiled only slightly in his direction, as to when I looked down I had noticed that the only thing that had been covering my small breasts was a white sports bra.

I pulled the blankets up quickly. "So Anne, who is this?" I asked in an almost timid voice.

"Oh, this is-"

"Edward Kenway," He interrupted, giving an almost shit-eating grin at me. I held my ground, eyes locked on him.

"That still doesn't explain who you are."

"I'm your new neighbor. So what do they call you lass?"

I instinctively cringed at being called that. "They call me Mary, asshole. And try to not refer to me as lass."

"Sorry, I didn't know that you had a temper this early in the morning." I rolled my eyes at his little remark. Why did Anne have to invite him in?

"You want to stay for breakfast?" Anne asked Edward. He rolled his shoulder a little bit, thinking of weather to stay or not. Looking over at me he grinned, he nodded his head.

"That sounds lovely."

"Well then make yourself at home." She gestured him in.

Edward quickly found a lazyboy chair to sink into, sitting across from me.

"Something wrong with your shoulder?" I asked, just trying to make small talk with the man, even though I had no interest in him at all.

"Oh, it's a little sore from moving boxes is all. There's no need to worry about little old me."

"I wasn't"


End file.
